Truth Seeker
New Member
Starting today, the public can weigh in on a set of regulations that would govern how medical marijuana is grown, distributed and given to patients in Connecticut.
The state Department of Consumer Protection wrote 70 pages of "stringent" draft regulations. They are intended to mimic the state system that controls the distribution of such pharmaceuticals as OxyContin.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the medical marijuana bill last May, and in October, the state began allowing patients to apply for medical marijuana licenses. So far, said Consumer Protection Commissioner Phillip Rubenstein, the state has issued about 300 licenses and received more than 400 applications.
Nineteen other states offer some form of legalized marijuana for medical use.
Rubenstein said his department drafted the regulations with drug policy and legal experts from the department, and took into account the regulations in place in other states. Ultimately, he said, they decided to follow a "stringent" model similar to how prescription drugs are controlled.
"The intent was really to use a controlled pharmaceutical substance model very directly," he said. "I think we're the only state that has used that model as completely as we have."
Some of the major parts of the Department of Consumer Protection's draft regulations include:
"The provision that requires $2 million in an escrow for producers, that's a huge sum of money. It could edge out the little guy," she said.
O'Keefe said that a producer in New Mexico told her that it cost $150,000 to get a growing operation up and running, not including state fees.
O'Keefe also said that the requirement that only a licensed pharmacist could dispense marijuana could negatively affect patients. Since marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, some pharmacists might be averse to putting their career on the line to dispense medical marijuana, she said.
Another concern, O'Keefe said, is that the state has not included chronic pain on its list of qualifying ailments for medical marijuana use – a major difference over other states' laws. That list includes HIV, AIDS, cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, cachexia, epilepsy, intractable spasticity and wasting syndrome.
The regulations do allow people to petition the state to add ailments to that list.
Ophthalmologist Steven Thornquist opposed the medical marijuana law when the General Assembly was debating it in 2012. In his opinion, marijuana has limited medical applications, and he had planned to weigh in on the crafting of regulations because of his opposition to the law.
Representing the Connecticut Society of Eye Professionals, he told the legislature last year that glaucoma should not be on the list of qualifying ailments and was concerned that there's no mechanism to subtract ailments from the list. He also said that inconsistency in the purity of marijuana is a problem, and that pharmaceuticals are advantageous because of their consistency.
He explained that, if he has to prescribe a controlled substance – morphine or OxyContin, say – it would be tracked because of his registration with the state and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The state would require the same registrations for physicians signing patients up for medical marijuana. Thornquist said the system allows the tracking of drugs found illegally or a doctor who is prescribing them too frequently.
"The supply chain is not well established from a control side," he said of medical marijuana. Purity is also an issue. "Marijuana does not have that kind of supply chain," he said.
Rubenstein said that once the public comment period ends Friday, the department would review suggested changes and make them, if necessary. The department must submit the regulations to a legislative review committee by July 1. Rubenstein said that the regulations should be approved by the fall.
In the meantime, those who want to qualify for medical marijuana must visit their physician and meet certain state qualifications.
"We've really not been hampered by the politics or the dispute over policy. We've been asked, in a very professional way, to develop a system intended by the statute, and that's what we've done," Rubenstein said.
The department will accept public comments beginning 9:30 a.m. today in Room 126 at the State Office Building, 165 Capitol Ave. Speakers are allowed 10 minutes. Written comments can be submitted until Friday to the Department of Consumer Protection.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: nhregister.com
Author: Neal McNamara
Contact: Connecticut News - CT News | The New Haven Register
Website: Connecticut taking comments on marijuana rules- The New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut
The state Department of Consumer Protection wrote 70 pages of "stringent" draft regulations. They are intended to mimic the state system that controls the distribution of such pharmaceuticals as OxyContin.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the medical marijuana bill last May, and in October, the state began allowing patients to apply for medical marijuana licenses. So far, said Consumer Protection Commissioner Phillip Rubenstein, the state has issued about 300 licenses and received more than 400 applications.
Nineteen other states offer some form of legalized marijuana for medical use.
Rubenstein said his department drafted the regulations with drug policy and legal experts from the department, and took into account the regulations in place in other states. Ultimately, he said, they decided to follow a "stringent" model similar to how prescription drugs are controlled.
"The intent was really to use a controlled pharmaceutical substance model very directly," he said. "I think we're the only state that has used that model as completely as we have."
Some of the major parts of the Department of Consumer Protection's draft regulations include:
- Allowing the establishment of at least three medical marijuana producers, which will grow the plants, monitor their purity and distribute them to medical marijuana dispensaries.
- Producers can't be in a "detrimental" location near churches or schools; producers would also need to put $2 million into an escrow account, which the producer would forfeit to the state if it failed to meet growing criteria; producers would have to pay $25,000 to apply for a license, and, if granted, pay an annual $75,000 licensing fee.
- Only a licensed pharmacist "in good standing" in Connecticut may receive a license to operate a medical marijuana dispensary; a dispensary would be a private retail operation that would receive medical marijuana from producers and sell it – like a pharmacy, but only for marijuana products. It's possible it could be in the same location as a pharmacy, if all employees qualify.
- Medical marijuana patients would receive a license – a plastic ID card similar to a driver's license – from the state that would allow them to legally possess a supply of marijuana.
- Karen O'Keefe from the Marijuana Policy Project said her group has submitted suggested changes to the state regulations. One concern for the group is the expense of the system of production and distribution.
"The provision that requires $2 million in an escrow for producers, that's a huge sum of money. It could edge out the little guy," she said.
O'Keefe said that a producer in New Mexico told her that it cost $150,000 to get a growing operation up and running, not including state fees.
O'Keefe also said that the requirement that only a licensed pharmacist could dispense marijuana could negatively affect patients. Since marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, some pharmacists might be averse to putting their career on the line to dispense medical marijuana, she said.
Another concern, O'Keefe said, is that the state has not included chronic pain on its list of qualifying ailments for medical marijuana use – a major difference over other states' laws. That list includes HIV, AIDS, cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, cachexia, epilepsy, intractable spasticity and wasting syndrome.
The regulations do allow people to petition the state to add ailments to that list.
Ophthalmologist Steven Thornquist opposed the medical marijuana law when the General Assembly was debating it in 2012. In his opinion, marijuana has limited medical applications, and he had planned to weigh in on the crafting of regulations because of his opposition to the law.
Representing the Connecticut Society of Eye Professionals, he told the legislature last year that glaucoma should not be on the list of qualifying ailments and was concerned that there's no mechanism to subtract ailments from the list. He also said that inconsistency in the purity of marijuana is a problem, and that pharmaceuticals are advantageous because of their consistency.
He explained that, if he has to prescribe a controlled substance – morphine or OxyContin, say – it would be tracked because of his registration with the state and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The state would require the same registrations for physicians signing patients up for medical marijuana. Thornquist said the system allows the tracking of drugs found illegally or a doctor who is prescribing them too frequently.
"The supply chain is not well established from a control side," he said of medical marijuana. Purity is also an issue. "Marijuana does not have that kind of supply chain," he said.
Rubenstein said that once the public comment period ends Friday, the department would review suggested changes and make them, if necessary. The department must submit the regulations to a legislative review committee by July 1. Rubenstein said that the regulations should be approved by the fall.
In the meantime, those who want to qualify for medical marijuana must visit their physician and meet certain state qualifications.
"We've really not been hampered by the politics or the dispute over policy. We've been asked, in a very professional way, to develop a system intended by the statute, and that's what we've done," Rubenstein said.
The department will accept public comments beginning 9:30 a.m. today in Room 126 at the State Office Building, 165 Capitol Ave. Speakers are allowed 10 minutes. Written comments can be submitted until Friday to the Department of Consumer Protection.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: nhregister.com
Author: Neal McNamara
Contact: Connecticut News - CT News | The New Haven Register
Website: Connecticut taking comments on marijuana rules- The New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut
